The Illness
by Illyric
Summary: JJ is struck with a virulent strain of the influenza virus. He falls ill, Drake flips out, and all hell breaks loose. SLASH-DrakexJJ main, RyoxDee at some point-however, if you're reading FAKE, you should be accustomed to the slash.
1. Chapter 1

A/n- Hello everyone! This is my newest project. It's most likely going to end up a two or three chapter story. I don't really know yet! XD.

I'd like to dedicate this to LithiumDelusions, Daxemon and PriyaLaLita. Your works have inspired me and given me the strength to write my own. I hope you enjoy.

Huge thanks to my beta, sussiekitten. She's positively amazing; this would have been impossible without her help.

On with the show!

* * *

Jemmy J. Adams was positively miserable.

He had the sniffles, his head was pounding and he swore that there was something alive in his sinuses. He was coughing uncontrollably, and he was having trouble breathing.

When he had woken up that morning, he coughed up a huge amount of phlegm, and couldn't even see straight until after his shower.

Work was going to suck.

* * *

Drake Parker, on the other hand, was pacing a storm in the office he shared with JJ. Drake himself had arrived on time, which was unusual for him. This, however, was not the cause of his pacing.

JJ was never late. Never. Not in their entire partnership had Detective Adams arrived late for work, even when Drake had spent the night in the Californian's penthouse. For JJ to be late something drastic must have happened; thus, Drake felt the need to pace.

It was around 8:20 when Drake finally decided to leave the office and go searching for his partner. Just as he reached the door, it swung open, nearly striking him in the face. JJ veritably fell across the threshold, tripped, and was caught and picked back up by Drake. Jemmy immediately went into a coughing fit.

"JJ! Are you ok?" asked the very worried detective.

"Ugh…" was all that JJ managed to get out.

Drake took an inventory of the lavender-haired man. His face was lightly flushed, he was sweating a bit, and his breathing was mildly labored. Drake leaned over his partner, and without thinking anything of it, pressed his lips to JJ's forehead to ascertain the young detective's temperature. He pulled away after a few seconds.

"You definitely have a fever. Come on, you're taking a sick day, and I'm taking you home," said Drake commandingly.

"Nhn…" groaned the sick young man. Had he been feeling better, he would have jumped at the pressure on his forehead, but instead he stood slowly and wobbled. He could not catch himself, but felt a pair of strong, muscular arms wrap around him, and he snuggled into the warmth on instinct.

"Easy, buddy. I gotcha," said the elder of the two.

* * *

The two detectives walked back to JJ's apartment, as it was the closer of the two. Or rather, one detective walked, dragging the other alongside him in a stupor. When they arrived, the doorman to the apartment recognized the L.A. Native and held the door for the two. Drake steered JJ into the elevator, and held him as it began its slow ascent. They eventually reached the 8th floor, at which point the two men exited and began stumbling towards the penthouse. When they arrived, Drake tried the door.

Of course. Locked.

Drake rearranged the man to his side so he could get into JJ's pockets to check for a key. Although JJ was relatively out of it, he could feel the hands against his thigh and in a feverish haze recognized Drake next to him.

"Wha…what are you d-doing?" he asked, stuttering. His tongue felt like lead against his mouth, and he could tell he was really sick.

Drake's head snapped up at his partner's voice.

"I took you home. I talked to both the commissioner and the chief. Ryo and Dee are gonna cover our shifts so that I can take care of you."

"But…why?" asked the lilac haired detective.

Drake thought about it for a moment before simply saying, "You're sick. Now come on, let's get you inside," as the lock clicked and the door opened.

The two walked down the hall and into JJ's bedroom. Drake slowly and carefully laid the sick detective down before searching his penthouse for any kind of medicine. He also called the doctor, who called the pharmacy, who called Drake to let him know the anti-biotic was ready. Drake came back to find JJ twitching and shivering. When he felt his skin, it was cold, but his face was flushed. Drake quickly undressed his partner, blushing lightly at the removal of the belt and pants. He could clearly see the bulge that was JJ through the skimpy boxer-briefs the young man wore. He forced himself to look away.

//Now is NOT the time to start fantasizing about JJ!// he thought angrily. He tucked the California boy under the covers, and rubbed his head lightly. He ran out of the house to get the medicine from the pharmacy two blocks away, and hurried back as soon as he could.

* * *

JJ, on the other hand, was in the middle of a series of warped fever dreams. He dreamt of L.A., of his friends, of the police station.

But for the most part, he dreamt of Drake.

He dreamed of his newest heartbreak, of the kiss they shared on the rooftop a few weeks back, of events yet to come in the bedroom that made him shiver beyond the chill in his bones. He felt like he was on fire and yet freezing at the same time, and curled into a ball. All he could remember was getting to work and Drake's expression of worry. It made him happy to know that Drake did feel SOMETHING towards him, though at the moment his thoughts were disoriented and chaotic. He shivered again, this time from the cold, and fell asleep once more.

* * *

When Drake arrived back he checked in on JJ, who was curled into a ball and asleep. He decided that JJ needed to have something to eat before taking the strong drugs, and searched for a can of chicken soup. Unfortunately, the only thing JJ had left along the lines of chicken soup was a small pack of chicken-flavored ramen. He began breaking the noodles up, and put a pot of water on to boil. As he waited for the water to heat up, he went back to check on his friend. JJ was still shivering. Drake looked at his watch. He had about ten minutes until the water boiled, and he knew JJ needed to warm up. He took off his shoes and climbed into bed with the younger man, wrapped his arms around him and buried his nose into JJ's neck. The younger man blushed a little brighter, and in his fevered haze, spun around to latch onto the man next to him. He buried his nose into Drake's collarbone.

"So…warm…" murmured the sick man. Drake just held him and donated his warmth until the alarm went off. He attempted to get up, but found himself trapped by two arms and two legs entwined with his body.

"JJ…you need to let go. I have to go get your soup ready," said the blonde man.

"Not letting go," asserted a very cold (and yet burning up) JJ.

Drake tried to pry JJ away, but couldn't get his partner off of him. He decided that ultimately, he could cook like this. He very carefully stood up. JJ was wrapped around him, legs around his waist and arms around his neck. He walked slowly into the kitchen, and turned the temperature down on the stove. He opened the package of ramen, pulled out the seasoning packet, added the noodles and the seasoning, and stirred for three minutes until it was ready to eat, all the while holding JJ away from the stove. He turned the stove off and looked at JJ.

"JJ, you have to let go. You're about to have soup and some medicine; I promise you'll be warm," commented Drake.

JJ sighed into his neck, and slowly let himself down. He wobbled, and Drake steadied him. They walked together over to a chair, and Drake helped the younger sit down.

The lilac haired man realized that although he was still stuffy, feverish and had a headache, everything seemed a little less severe. His eyes were closed, and light was a little painful, but it wasn't as bad as this morning.

Drake poured some of the steaming food into small bowl, and put it in front of his partner. He then pulled out an orange pill bottle, opened it and placed one of the capsules next to the bowl.

"Alright JJ, eat the soup and then take your medicine, ok?" said the concerned blonde man.

"Mhm…" trailed off the younger detective, shoving a steaming spoonful of soup into his mouth happily. Well, as happily as someone with the flu can.

"I called us both in at work. I took a couple days off. I took you off for the whole week," said the elder.

JJ's head shot up.

"Drake! I can't take a week off from work! You know I—"

"Am sick? Yes, I do. You aren't going to work this week, and that's final," he said.

"But—"

"But nothing," said Drake with finality.

JJ huffed, finished his soup and downed his pills. He stood, and shakily sat down.

Drake stood and walked over to his friend. He picked JJ up, slinging the Californian's arm over his shoulder, and walked towards the bedroom. When they made it, he tucked the lilac-haired man into bed.

"Goodnight, Jemmy. Sleep well," he said into JJ's ear. Within in seconds, the sick man fell into sleep.

Drake shuffled into the living room and sat down on JJ's couch. He needed to think about some things. Namely, the L.A. Native, and his feelings on the man. If someone had told him a month ago he would have been kissed by Detective Adams, he probably would have laughed and then walked away. However, this was not the case. He thought back to that day on the roof.

* * *

"_Drake-sempai! Wallowing in your loneliness, I see. Did you get dumped by some girl again?" asked a curious JJ._

_Drake glared at him._

"_Can't you show a guy a little sympathy? Talking so casually about it…" he said sadly._

"_I'm just shocked it happened again…Don't know why I'm surprised, though. This seems to happen frequently with you," he commented bluntly._

"_Hey, cut me a break already! Besides, I don't get dumped THAT often…" he trailed off._

"_Gah, to hell with it all! Who needs women!? From this day forth I shall live for work! Career advancement, here I come," he was, of course, not completely serious, but angry at the female gender in general._

"_It's alright. Not like I don't know how you feel," said a dejected JJ._

"_In a sense. But you still have your 'Dee-Sempaii 3' to chase after!" Drake was convinced he was worse off._

"…_Heh. Not exactly. It just hasn't been the same…not since things changed between those two…" JJ trailed off, entirely depressed._

"_Those two…do you mean Dee and Ryo? Am I missing something here?" asked Drake, confused._

"_I guess it figures that you wouldn't have caught on by now," said a sulking JJ._

_Drake turned around, leaning his back against the low wall at the edge of the roof._

"_Grr…what's with the insult-fest today, huh?" he asked, irritated with all the teasing._

"_It looks like…I've been rejected after all," said the lilac-haired man, giving up his last claim upon Dee at long last._

_Drake's heartstrings pulled against his chest as he looked with sorrow-filled eyes at JJ._

"_Hey, don't worry too much about it. So it didn't work out…there are plenty of fish in the sea, right?" asked the New York native, trying to cheer up his partner. He reached over and ruffled the lilac hair._

"…_I guess you're right, sempai," he said, feeling a little better._

"_Of course I'm right. Believe me, I've been there, done that, got the damn t-shirt. Besides, you'll find the right person one of these days. Trust me," said Drake, finishing his little pep-talk._

_All of the sudden, a pair of lips was upon his, crushing against him with enthusiasm. He felt a hand upon his left cheek, felt the heat rise to his cheeks, saw a flushing JJ with closed eyes far too close. He was stunned! Suddenly, JJ broke it off a moment later. Was it a moment, or an hour? He couldn't tell._

"_Yep, you were right! Gotta find someone new and I trust you!" said JJ, back to his enthusiastic self._

"_On that note, let's go grab a bite to eat. I know just the place. Just have to find the number, right Drake sempai-!" He trailed off, noticing Drake still against the wall, blush on his face._

"_Well, are you coming or not? I'm not going to wait all day, you know," said the irritated Californian._

_

* * *

_Drake touched his fingers to his lips. He was unsure about how he felt about this. Originally, when he had been told his partner was gay, he was a little upset. Once he got to know JJ, he quickly got over his initial homophobia. He was always close to the L.A. native. When JJ came back from a sniper call, it was Drake who calmed him down, reassured him that it was the right thing to do. When Dee made JJ cry, it was Drake who felt a need to quiet him and convince him that everything was ok. That, and it gave him an insatiable need to drive his fist into Dee's face.

Well, one thing was for sure; JJ certainly was the only thing on his mind more often than not. When he went on dates with girls, he would often wonder what JJ was doing that night. In fact, several girls had broken up with him because JJ mattered more than they did.

And Drake had to admit that it was true. Because JJ did matter to him…more than any girl on Earth.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- Hello, everyone! I'd like to send a shout out of thanks to everyone who reviewed; you're all so kind!

Also, huge thank you to by beta, Sussiekitten. She's amazing!

Once again, this fic is dedicated to LithiumDelusions, PriyaLaLita and Daxemon.

If I failed to mention it last chapter, then let it be known; I own some sheet music and a piano, and that's about it. I most certainly do not own FAKE, which belongs to TokyoPop and Sanami Matoh.

On with it!

* * *

When JJ awoke, it was not a bang. His body slowly moved towards consciousness, waking him bit by bit. When he finally opened his eyes, he glanced at the clock.

11:04 AM

JJ sat up quickly and immediately regretted it. His head began to pound, and his joints began to throb. He slowly swung out of his sweat-soaked bed and, keeping in constant contact with the wall, proceeded to make his way to the bathroom.

After relieving himself, he looked in the mirror and took an inventory of his appearance. His eyes were bloodshot, his nose was red at the tip and he had large circles under his eyes.

/Damn, what did I do to deserve this?/ he thought grimly.

After moping about in the bathroom, he eventually returned to his room. He was wearing sweatpants and a pair of boxers, but nothing else. He opened his closet door, pulled out a light bathrobe and threw it on. After that, he went into the kitchen.

* * *

JJ tiredly shuffled into the kitchen/dinette. As he did so, he blearily noticed an orange bottle of medicine on the table. He picked it up and examined the label.

/Avalox? I've never even heard of this!/ he though, checking out the name. He looked at the warnings.

/Do not use with antacids…avoid direct exposure to light…do not take if pregnant?/ He laughed quietly at this and read the directions next.

/Take every twelve hours? Drake gave me one around midnight, so I should have one…well, about now./

JJ poured himself a bowl of cereal and grabbed a spoon from the drawer, then he added milk and sat down at the table to eat. When he had finished, he took out one of the pills and downed it with the rest of the milk in the bowl. He then looked at the clock.

11:52 AM

/Today is going to be a long day…/ he thought glumly. He took some Advil, prepared some coffee for Drake and wandered into the living room.

His beautiful- no, handsome crush was lying across the sofa, one hand over his eyes. The California native watched him sleep for a few minutes before kneeling next to the couch. He tapped Drake twice on the nose.

"You know, you kind of suck at this whole caring-for-a-patient thing. I can see why you stayed away from nursing and EMS!" joked JJ.

Drake slowly came to, then opened his eyes. He lay there for a moment quietly. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he jumped up off the couch.

"Oh, shit! JJ, you shouldn't be up! You're supposed to be asleep, it's—"

"11:59? Yeah," said JJ with a smirk.

Drake whipped out his cell phone, then smacked himself in the forehead.

"Damn, JJ, I'm sorry! I totally missed my alarm."

JJ smiled, when suddenly a pained expression drew across his face. He began coughing violently.

"JJ? Are you ok?" asked his concerned partner.

The lilac haired man recovered quickly.

"Yeah. I think I overexerted myself. Maybe I should lie down…" he said as he moved onto the recently vacated couch. "I made coffee for you," he added as an afterthought.

Drake looked stern.

"You're supposed to be resting!" he admonished. He turned on the TV and gave the remote to JJ. "Order a movie, and we'll watch it for a little bit. I scheduled you an appointment with the doctor at 3:00. We'll be headed to Bellevue, alright?

JJ smiled. Drake was so thoughtful and concerned. He wanted to reach out and kiss him.

Then JJ's smile vanished. Of course. This was Drake. His partner. His hot, wonderful, caring, and straight partner.

The L.A. native's head drooped.

"Yeah, Drake," he said, his voice raw with emotion and infection. "We can go."

* * *

Drake sat in the waiting room gloomily. Ever since JJ had completely shut down around noon, he had been miserable. Eventually they made their way to the hospital. By this point, JJ's head began to hurt. The lilac haired man was taken in by a nurse, leaving the blonde to wallow in his self-pity.

//Am I not showing my feelings well enough? Am I not giving hints? Does he not see me?// Drake thought sadly. Suddenly, a shock ran through him, a light bulb went off and he was filled with dread.

//Or what if he does, and doesn't want me? Shit! JJ, you're so complicated. Give me a sign, please!//

* * *

"Step on the scale, please," asked a short nurse with shoulder length brown hair.

JJ tiredly stepped onto the electronic scale. The nurse waited a moment before recording a number.

"Follow me, please!" she said with enthusiasm.

JJ shuffled down the hallway after the nurse towards a random room. The two entered.

"Please have a seat, Mr. Adams. I'm going to take your temperature, get a throat swab, and the doctor will be by shortly after that.

"Mmhmm…" he groaned.

He felt an odd instrument inserted into his ear. It remained there for a moment, then beeped three times. The nurse looked at the little screen.

"Hmm…" she hummed quietly, writing something down at the same time. She put the chart on a nearby counter, opened a drawer and pulled out a sterile package of two culture swabs.

"Open your mouth, stick your tongue out and stay 'ah'," she said cheerfully. JJ wondered if the nurse was sadistic or something, but did as he was told. She shoved the swabs to the back of his throat, touching his tonsils, uvula and the actual back of his throat. He immediately gagged; cotton was uncomfortable back there! She quickly pulled the swabs out.

"All done! The doctor should be here in five minutes," she said with a grin. She left the room and shut the door, leaving the California boy with his thoughts.

/Damn, how can she be so cheerful!/ he thought in complaint. His thoughts quickly shifted to the man in the waiting room.

/Drake…you have no clue, do you?/ he thought in despair. His thoughts went along this line for some time.

After a while, a woman came in. She looked very tired, and her face was worn with age. She looked a little old, probably in her mid 50's. She had long, almost waist length hair. She was a little over six feet and had glasses on. She had wrinkles and worry lines. Her bangs just flipped over her forehead. She wore a white lab coat with a black shirt and black pants underneath.

"Well, Mr. Adams, what seems to be the trouble?" she asked. Her voice was lilting and soft, coaxing, almost.

"Well," began JJ, his voice hoarse. "I'm having pain in my throat, headaches, a stuffed nose, some tension in my shoulders—" he paused in mid sentence with a violent coughing fit. "That, and my ears hurt," he finished, feeling miserable.

As he was talking, the doctor had been washing her hands. She walked over to stand in front of the detective.

"Well, Mr. Adams, that's quite a lot of symptoms. I have a hunch of what might be wrong, but we'll see if I'm right," she said. She reached up, and began palpitating parts of his neck, behind his jaw, on his throat and in the back of his neck.

"Hmm…" she said quietly. She then proceeded to go to the wall, and grabbed a little lumiscope off the wall.

"When did your symptoms start?" she asked, putting a protective magnifying funnel over the end.

"Yesterday. It was very sudden. I woke up, and there it was," he said simply.

"Open your mouth, stick out your tongue and say 'ah' for me?" she asked. He did so, and she shined the light down his throat.

"Oh, boy," she said. "Your throat really is red."

"It feels it," he joked, then turned his head away and began coughing violently. At this point, a nurse slipped into the room and left a sheet of paper on the desk.

The doctor shined the lumiscope up JJ's nose and then threw way the funnel. She turned the scope off, put it back in its holder and picked up the sheet of paper.

"Well, what do you know?" she said. "I was right."

"Right about what?" asked a very confused JJ.

"Yesterday, your partner called in and described your symptoms. I recognized them and prescribed an antibiotic. Have you already started taking it?" she asked.

"Is that what Avalox is?" he asked.

"Yes. It's one of the strongest antibiotics we can give, and it's perfect for destroying the infection you have. You've got Type A Streptococcus, the nastiest of the four or five of them. Based on his description, it seemed like a likely cause. Go home, take it as directed, and don't go out for a while. You're contagious for another 12 hours; stay indoors," she cautioned.

She opened the door and began to walk in a different direction.

"Thank you, doctor," said JJ. He meant it, too; she had cleared up some of his confusion. At least he knew now it wasn't swine flu!

"You're welcome," she said simply, then turned and walked away. JJ walked down the hall, paid the clerk and walked through a glass door. He spied Drake and walked over to him.

"Hey," said the lilac haired man.

Drake looked up.

"Hey! You ok?" he asked, genuinely worried.

"Yep. She said I had strepti-whoose-i-whats and that I had to take the antibiotics she prescribed," he relayed in a confused manner.

Drake just laughed.

"You mean strep? I used to get that all the time as a kid. It's not too bad. We'll go home, and I'll run out to get some popsicles."

JJ sighed. He knew he was in good hands.

"Thanks, Drake. You're amazing," said the California boy, meaning every word.

Drake blushed and looked at his partner.

"You too, JJ. You too," he said quietly.


End file.
